Miller EconoTig

DavidR8

DavidR8

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There's a Miller EconoTig for sale near me.
It's about $500 less than a new Everlast AC/DC Tig. Does anyone have experience with one of these?

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Yes, and I didn't care for it. My problem was at the low end, where it would cut off too soon, meaning that it wasn't good for thin material. On the other hand, if you're doing stuff thicker than maybe 1/16", then you should be good.

Disclaimer: it was my first TIG welder so some of its limitations may have been me, but when I went to the Syncrowave 250, I magically got better. Check out midlana.com to see what I built with it :)
 
I'm not familiar with it, but I did find the manual for it online which will provide you some specs.

Econotig manual


Quickly looking through it, one thing stands out. There is some talk about precautions with its high frequency. I know in my welding class the instructor has kept a lot of the older machines around as back ups, but he got rid of all the early high frequency machines as they could cause problems with electronics (or as he pointed out all of his newer very electronic welders). The manual shows a date of 1998 so this is a 20-ish year old design.

It is a transformer machine, so heavy, 140lbs, vs 50lbs for the Diversion 180 which would be the close modern comparison ($2200 US but there is a $300 rebate available at the moment). Some really like transformer machines because there isn't much to go wrong with them.

The Duty Cycle of 20% at 150A is pretty typical for a welders of this size, and is the same as the Diversion 180. A min 30A will limit use on thin metals as KB points out, the Diversion 180 goes down to 10A, my 220 only goes to 20A so this isn't a major issue unless you were planning to do some really thin stuff. The manual recommends 18 ga (3/64") to 3/16" in steel, and 14ga (1/16") to 3/16" with Aluminum.
 
Thanks @kb58 and @Aaron_W
The fellow is asking $900 which seems high for and old machine with a limited feature set.
I’d rather save pennies and buy once.


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Thanks @NCjeeper, you read my mind on the Everlast unit.


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Yeah, $900 CA is $670 US. That puts you at a 20 year old name brand vs a brand new import. AHP and Everlast have decent reviews from what I've seen and have several options in roughly the same price range. The AHP AlphaTig 201 is on sale for $690 right now, only $20 more, 120/240v and 10A to 200A with a better duty cycle.

Of course there are those who say the transformer machines will be used by the cockroaches to weld long after we blow ourselves up. :grin:
 
I had an everlast scratch start and it was a really nice machine. Go on you tube on welding tips and tricks his name is Jody or something weird but he test machines and gives detailed reviews in everlast. Good luck
 
I have the 180 amp version, maybe a little newer, looks bigger. Been a good machine, its beter than I am at tig welding. They draw a lot of power, see that ones listed at 60 amp input. I have mine on a 50 amp breaker, it trips the breaker at about 150 amp output. Should upgrade the service to it, you need all the heat you can get for aluminum.
Imagine that one has high frequency start on DC, very nice. It applies the high frequency on the stick as well, makes starting 7018 a breeze.
They're a good solid machine that should last decades, and probably get parts from Miller for a long time.
Not as portable as the inverter machines, they weigh a lot.

Greg
 
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